Faking It star Katie Stevens breaks free from American Idol

MTV series also stars Rita Volk, Gregg Sulkin

If a former American Idol contestant stars in a TV show and no one realizes she’s a former American Idol contestant, does that show make an impact?

The answer is yes, kids, it does.

Witness the case of Katie Stevens, who placed eighth on Season 9 of American Idol. She now stars on Faking It, a teen comedy airing on MTV that’s won four AfterEllen Visibility Awards as well as a Teen Choice Award. The Season 2 finale airs tonight.

“With American Idol, you’re thrust into the spotlight and doing these cool things. And once that’s over, you have to fend for yourself if you don’t win,” says the 22-year-old, who admits working at a cupcake shop after her stint on the TV singing competition.

“I was trying to do music for a long time while taking acting classes and auditioning and the only thing on my resume was American Idol. All these casting directors saw me as just a girl who was on American Idol who thinks she can act.”

Gregg Sulkin, left, Katie Stevens and Rita Volk in Faking It

With Faking It, though, it wasn’t until her audition for MTV’s executives that her link with American Idol, judge Simon Cowell and his too-tight T-shirts came to light.

And you know what? It didn’t matter.

“I’ve been lucky to have a smoother transition, but I did have some ups and downs. But I’m very grateful,” says Stevens.

Faking It zooms in on Hester High School, a kind of bizarro high school where the quirky kids have usurped jocks and cheerleaders in popularity. Stevens plays Karma, who initially pretends to date her best friend Amy (Rita Volk) in order to climb the social ladder.

Trouble is, Amy soon realizes she could actually be gay and has to work through her feelings for Karma. This season, Karma has been coming to terms with the fact that Amy slept with her boyfriend, Liam (Gregg Sulkin).

“It’s a show that says you don’t have to pick on people for being unique,” says Stevens. “You can accept them for who they authentically are.”

To wit, Season 1 ended with the revelation that one of the main characters, the snarky and stereotypically feminine Lauren (Bailey De Young), was born intersex.

Katie Stevens, left, and Rita Volk in Faking It

Stevens says the writers helped her and the rest of the cast understand what it means to be intersex, a physical condition that happens when a person is born with both male and female chromosomes but their bodies typically develop as female.

“We met with a few members of Inter/Act, which is a group for people who are intersex. They taught us about the type of intersex that Lauren is, which I believe is called Androgen Insensitive Syndrome,” says Stevens.

“I wasn’t aware of it, but I’m so happy now that I am so I can speak about it in a way that doesn’t offend the members of the intersex community.”

The show’s scribes have also written Stevens’ musical aptitude into the scripts – Karma is a budding songwriter and has sung twice onscreen. Not that Stevens is particularly keen to break into song often on the show.

“I kind of like it because I get to keep it separate, my music career and my acting career. But it is really cool when the writers want to incorporate actual parts of ourselves into our characters,” says the Connecticut native, who moved to Nashville to pursue her musical aspirations.

“When I’m not filming, I’m here songwriting. Music’s always going to be a part of my life and who I am.”